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Christ Port

Saturday, May 27, 2006

The Purpose of Genealogies Trace in the Bible

Scattered in books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua... etc) and in the beginning of the New Testament of the Holy Scripture, many recordings the genealogies trace. However such counting of trace has been stopped at the birth of Jesus - beginning of Matthew 1:1-17, and Luke 3:23-38. Then such genealogies recording came to a full-stop at the point of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.

I think the purpose of genealogies recording, as God doesn't do things without a purpose, is to assist the reveal of prophecy: the prophecy of the birth of the Messiah - Jesus Christ to be fulfilled. Following is a reference from "Prophecies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Jesus Christ" (http://biblia.com/jesusbible/prophecies.htm).

1- The "seed of a woman": Genesis 3:15.... Galatians 4:4.
Jesus was born of Virgin Mary without any man involved in His conception (Is.7:14, Mat.1:23, Lk.1:27).
- Gen.3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
- Gal.4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law. (Luk.2:7; Rev.12:5)

2- Descendent of Abraham: Genesis 12:3, 18:18.... Acts 3:25, Matthew 1:1.
- Gen. 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. (Gen. 12:3)
- Act. 3:25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, "Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed." (Mt.1:1; Lk.3:34)

3- Descendent of Isaac: Gen.17:19, Luc.3:34.
- Gen.17:19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."
-Mt.1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. (Lk.3:34)

4- Descendent of Jacob: Numbers 24:17...... Luke 3:34, Matt.1:2.
- Num.24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
- Lk.3:34 The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor. (Mt.1:2)

5- From the Tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:33.
- Gen.49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
- Lk.3:33 The son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah. (Mt.1:2-3)

6- Hair of the Throne of David: Isaiah 9:7.... Luke 1:32-33.
- Isa.9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isa.11:1-5; 2Sam.7:13)
- Luk.1:32-33: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." (Mt.1:1, 1:6)

Therefore, people can trace and pinpoint Jesus is the Messiah.

Another reason it needs to stop right at the birth of Jesus is that since the prophecy has been fulfilled, there is no purpose of such bloodline recording anymore in God's eyes. God's Kingdom is all it matters in this business of genealogies recording to fulfill the prophecy of the birth of Messiah.

Reference:
(1) Why 2 Genealogies for Jesus Christ? (http://www.keyway.ca/htm2001/20010427.htm)
(2) Prophecies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Jesus Christ (http://biblia.com/jesusbible/prophecies.htm)

Thanks to my dear sister "PY" (both biologically and spiritually) helping me to provoke my thoughts of our Lord's word.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Gospel of Judas - To write a book when one is in a hurry... any logic there eh?

How could Judas Iscariot write a book (Gospel of Judas) when he was in a hurry of returning 30 silver coins with remorse (Matthew 27:3-4) and hanging himself (Matthew 27:5)? Any logic there eh? Possible another fiction like “The Da Vinci code” using real characters to fabricate a story, like stories of Chinese legends: "Jin Yong" chivalric fiction novel - partial history and partial fiction.

Probably a piece of Gnostics writing: "Gospel of Judas" written by an organization - Cainite Gnostics.

Also, beware of the last few verses of the last book of the Bible:

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described
in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19)

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Prophecy? "The Da Vinci Code" and "The book of 2 Peter"

Recently my Bible reading got to the book of 2 Peter, and I have been seeing all these "The Da Vinci Code" advertising posters around me (what a "big business" on "fiction"!)… Then phrases from chapter 2 of the book of 2 Peter became bold to me:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them - bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

...Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. (2 Peter 2:10-12)

Are there any correlations on "big business" with "greed", and any correlations on "fiction" with "slanderous accusations"? Any prophecy being revealed here?

More response can be found from the Holy Bible - Jude 1:4-21

On the side, the subject also leads me to think of the term "absolute purity" and its importance. I guess fiction has to be pure fiction including its character names and its content, and truth has to be pure truth; when mixing fiction and truth: slanderous accusations follow.